The Pirate Bay dangerous site Google warns Chrome and Firefox users

The Pirate Bay is a site that may contain malicious software, Google is warning Chrome and Firefox users. However, the site is not being blocked by the browsers – there is nothing to stop a person from ignoring the warning and entering the websites.

The Pirate Bay, often referred to as TPB, is an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software. Visitors can download, contribute and search magnet links and torrent files, which facilitate peer-to-peer file sharing among people who use the BitTorrent protocol. In other words, you can download pirate videos, games and software.

Rather than block the browsing public from accessing The Pirate Bay homepage, a warning signs pops up.

Website users who have access to The Pirate Bay homepage see this warning.

The Pirate Bay inaccessible in many places

In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, none of this makes much difference to users of major ISPs, because torrent-sharing sites are already inaccessible (blocked).

ThePirateBay Proxy List has the following message regarding the use of proxies/mirrors:

“ThePirateBay has been blocked by several ISPs (internet service providers) across the globe. These proxies are hosted in countries where ThePirateBay is not blocked. These PirateBay proxies can still deliver the content of the piratebay to you!”

If you do either ignore the warning and go through or access the site using a proxy, you could well be putting your computer at risk.

If all music, software and videos came from pirate websites, the three industries would cease to exist. Software creators, movie producers, actors and directors, and musicians would have no income. (Image: The Pirate Bay homepage)

If a user in the UK types in thepiratebay.se, he may be re-directed to ukispcourtorders.co.uk, where the following message heads the page: “Access to the websites listed on this page has been blocked pursuant to orders of the high court.”

Beware: The Pirate Bay may have malware

The most common cause of these error or blocking messages are virus-filled adverts that send malware to your computer, smartphone or tablet. The site owners will probably correct these error messages soon.

Many Internet users are likely to be put off by these error messages, experts say – regular users may never come back to the site again. Although this is unlikely to bring about the death of The Pirate Bay, its number of regular users will probably plummet.

A survey carried out last year by CHOICE, an Australian consumer group, found that video piracy declined dramatically – by 25% – since Netflix, the online streaming firm, started operating in the country.

Blocking pirate sites counter-productive?

Many torrent supporters say that blocking pirate video websites does not have the desired effect – rather than reducing usage it encourages it, they claim.

TorrentFreak.com reported on Dutch Internet provider XS4All, which last week revealed that after enforcing The Pirate Bay blockage, BitTorrent traffic actually increased. XS4All looked at the traffic on its network and discovered that over the last twelve months traffic increased on ports that are commonly used for BitTorrent.

UPC and KPN, two other major Dutch ISPs, have made similar statements regarding the consequences of censoring The Pirate Bay.

KPN is said to have seen no drop in traffic after its blockade was implemented. UPC said a small decline was initially observed in download traffic, but this has picked up and is now back to normal.

UK Pirate Party, a very popular proxy website for British Internet users, says censorship efforts are not just ineffective, they are also engaging members of the public in the politics surrounding online pirate videos, games and software.

“The Pirate Party’s website is now in the top 500 websites in the UK – above any other political party. If the aim was to change people’s behavior, the most noticeable change we have seen is an upsurge in interest in our kind of politics. I doubt this was the BPI’s intention.”

“We must not hand courts and governments censorship powers without public debate. The Lib Dems and Conservatives need to decide where policy is headed, not just make noises about digital rights. Until that point it is left to the Pirate party to defend them.”

Video – Online Piracy: Top 10 Facts

Did you know that Netflix uses online piracy’s hit parade to decide which movies to include in its offerings? This Top Tenz video shows us ten surprising facts about online piracy.